Defending champion

Chapter 402

Chapter 191

After playing the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hornets must rush back to New Orleans overnight to meet the challenge of the Washington Wizards.

On the second day after playing the Cavaliers, Byron Scott did not arrange any high-intensity training for the players, considering that there was still a game against the Wizards.

The Hornets played against the Wizards at home, and many media looked down on the Hornets.Because the Wizards are also one of the hottest teams in the league, and its core general Gilbert Arenas is at his peak, basically a god-blocking god, and a god-blocking-killing god.

Moreover, the most important Washington Wizards have basically not lost in more than a month. The Washington Wizards only lost 3 games in March.

At the beginning of the game, the referee on duty tossed the basketball vigorously. Hilton and Wizards center Heywood jumped at the same time. The two big hands reached the basketball almost at the same time. It was Hilton who poked the ball first with his fingers.

At this time, Arenas saw the castration of the basketball, slapped away the arm in front of him, and rushed to the front court like a hungry cheetah. Just before Paul was about to receive the ball sideways, he sped up the whip Killed.

With a "snap", the right hand that stretched as far as possible hit the basketball.And Jack didn't have time to raise the alarm at this time, but the latter still retreated to the backcourt smartly.

Accelerating suddenly, Arenas quickly dodged past Paul, and at the same time caught the rebounding basketball with his left palm, his body center of gravity was placed very low, and he quickly dribbled away his opponent with a sharp change of direction.Just now, Butler and the others were already preparing to attack, but the sudden change of the situation made them lose the opportunity, and it was too late to catch up.

"Steal, Arenas succeeded in stealing at the beginning of the game, oh, he quickly left Paul..." The voice full of worry in the center of New Orleans instantly guided the atmosphere of the game.

"Fast break!!!" The Wizards' bench became a standing seat, and the teammates shouted emotionally.

"Butler, why did this guy catch up with him so lingeringly?" Arenas was wondering in his heart.

Arenas looked at Butler, who was already standing on the three-point line, and didn't slow down at all. Russell Butler actually also stepped back towards the basket.Arenas turned his head slightly and found that the chasing Paul behind him was also following closely, and immediately made a decision in his heart.

With a "snap", he changed hands and dribbled the ball in front of his body again, and at the same time, his body rushed towards the right side of the three-second zone.

"Don't even think about it!" Butler backed away while staring closely at Arenas' movements—wanted to make a layup?Don't think about it, now he only needs to delay for a moment to wait for reinforcements - he immediately chose to block the breakthrough route. "

"Good job"

Paul quickly ran into the three-point line. Seeing that Butler had blocked Arenas, he also secretly felt ruthless in his heart. He must give this No. 0 kid a look.He wants to prove that he is the best point guard.

It is tolerable, what is unbearable!Give that kid a cap and try.Paul also made up his mind, and his feet moved faster.

But the next moment, Arenas made them miscalculate, and once again changed hands in front of him and changed directions drastically.At the same time, the speed increased again, lightly flashing past Butler's side like a gust of wind, holding the ball with both hands, changing direction and jumping for a layup.

Butler turned around and tried to foul Arenas' jersey, but he only caught a corner of the jersey, and then immediately moved away from the shadow of the No. 0 jersey.

All eyes were fixed on the jumping figure of Arenas and the basketball flying in the air.

"You must go in!" Jamison, who stayed in the middle circle and did not follow up, shouted vigorously. He believed that Arenas would score two points for the team first, and Arenas had that ability.

"Shua!!!" The basketball passed through the net, and Arenas took the lead to win the first place for the team.

"Damn it!" Paul, who was one step late, waved his arm and slashed into the air in front of him. Feel secretly startled.

Arenas turned his head and glanced at the displeased Butler, and ran back to the backcourt without saying a word.

"Damn Gilbert!" the commentator yelled with personal tendencies.

It was the Hornets' turn to attack. Paul trotted forward while dribbling the ball while paying attention to Arenas's movements. He no longer had the slightest contempt in his heart, and approached the top of the three-point arc step by step.

Arenas stepped on the three-point line with a low center of gravity. He was not worried about Paul's long-range shots. He watched the movements of his hands with both eyes.

With a "snap", the ball was passed to Peja who took the initiative to ask for the ball. The latter was entangled with Butler (Wizards' Butler) on the left rib. After receiving the ball, he was not in a hurry to break through. He was waiting for the inside Jack mentioned the high post to do the pick-and-roll.

Jamison took a side step to block the breakthrough line, and Butler also bypassed Jack to prepare for a flank attack. At this time, the Wizards ignored Jack, and they did not think that the threat of Jack on the outside was as great as that of Peja.

Peja Stockovic forces a shot over Jamison before Butler catches up.

shoot?

No, it's a pass?

The Wizards suddenly discovered that Jack had rushed to the inside line at some point, like an unstoppable tank.

Peja's pass hits the air, and Jack catches the ball with one hand, facing Heywood and smashing it directly into the basket.

The Wizards' insiders were really not enough to watch, and then Jack became the most eye-catching star in the first quarter as expected, scoring [-] points in the quarter with a ticket.

As for the Wizards, it was Heywood who showed his power. He played consecutive singles against Hilton, and with the support of Arenas and others on the outside, the Wizards in the away game firmly established their leading advantage.

39 to 30 ended the first quarter of the game. Arenas's performance did not continue the aggressiveness of the opening. After that, he only scored two points for a layup, but his assists reached five times.

In the second quarter of the game, the New Orleans Hornets, who were playing at home, were not able to further approach the score.The point difference remained at nine points.

The game started in the second half, and the Wizards who held the lead unsurprisingly strengthened their offense. After Arenas used Jamison's pick-and-roll, he calmly made a side-step jumper. Paul's defense was good enough.However, General Twitch is not something that ordinary people can defend. He can only watch helplessly as the basketball goes into the basket.

"Since the defense is not good, let's use the offense to make up for it!" Jack is still calm, and he doesn't pay much attention to keeping the general from scoring. Not to mention the gap between Paul and Arenas, he said that misplaced defense and pick-and-roll are always the same. It's hard to defend, so hit it with fire!

With Paul's high pick-and-roll, Jack swayed rapidly and cut in, temporarily getting rid of Heywood's defense. When he was close to the three-second zone, he forcibly leaned against Jamison, jumped up and raised his right hand holding the ball high.

"Don't think about making a move"

Jamison raised his arms high, shouted, and tried to interfere with Kevin's layup.

"Who said I was going to make a move?"

There was a slight smile on the corner of Jack's mouth, and the corners of his eyes were always watching for the follow-up. It's time for Butler.

The body paused in the air, twisted the belt arm, the right hand suddenly turned the wrist and shook, and sent the ball from Jamison's head to the basket. The latter did not expect this at all, and the reaction was impossible to talk about.

"bang"

With a bang, Butler followed up to catch the ball, took a step forward, jumped up and dunked with both hands, and officially sounded the Hornets' attack horn in the second half.

Quickly retreated to the defense and did not give the Wizards a chance to break fast. Peja tightly entangled Butler, and Paul blocked Arenas' receiving line. Antonio Daniels had to pass to the free throw line. Jamison, the latter caught the ball and held Jack on his back, trying to squeeze hard to the basket. The competition of strength did not win the upper hand, suddenly turned halfway and rushed to the basket, and made a forced shot with a whoosh, and the basketball hit the outside edge of the hoop popped out.

Quick counterattack, Jack grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it out, Peja made a transition, Paul ran up immediately after receiving the ball, chasing the Hornets' ass to launch a fast break, three steps, two steps, one step, Paul carried the ball at a constant speed Arenas approached the three-point line on the right.

"Is it a breakthrough?"

"Or wait for teammates to support and pass the ball?"

Arenas waved his hand to interfere with Paul's dribbling, thinking to himself.

breakthrough! ! !

Paul's figure paused for a while, his left foot protruded forward, and his upper body suddenly leaned forward sharply.Just when Arenas made the choice to make a defensive breakthrough, Paul tapped his left foot back to the ground, jumped up in the air like a green onion on dry land, assisted with his left hand, and quickly pulled out the basketball with his right hand.

"Shooting? No." Arenas suddenly realized that a figure went straight to the basket.Turning around, only to find the big number 33 and Jack's huge body hanging on the basket.

The melodious sound of wiping baskets rang out, and the scene once again remembered the cheers, deafening cheers, mixed with the sound of the DJ constantly hitting the eardrums.

While slowly backing up, Jack raised his left hand high, and then put his palm behind his ear, listening to the fiery cheers at the scene to his heart's content. He was completely integrated into today's atmosphere, and he was eager for even bigger cheers in his heart. Voice.

Today's game is destined to belong to the Hornets, and even more to Jack. The little emperor couldn't stop Kevin before, let alone the general.

Sure enough, in the next game, the entire Hornets team felt overwhelmed, and Jack was not fighting alone.

Peja received the ball from the outside, and Peja dribbled the ball on the three-point line. His eyes signaled Jack to come out for the pick-and-roll. After the latter stood still, he suddenly started, and his body suddenly leaned forward to the left.

Peja suddenly stopped, dribbled the ball under the crotch with a "snap", and swung away from Butler's left hand without losing speed. He stopped abruptly again, dribbled the ball under his crotch twice, took a step back and jumped up to make a mid-range shot, the ball rubbed against the inner edge of the basket and fell into it.

His timing, his release speed, and his high release point all make it difficult for opponents to block shots.

…………

"Beep..." The whistle sounded for the end of the lengthy game.In the whole game, in the end, the Hornets defeated the Wizards 124 to 110.

With Jack sitting on the inside and Paul and Peja in excellent form on the outside, the Hornets evened the score in the middle of the third quarter, and the point difference widened to more than [-] at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Jack, who scored 28 points, 27 rebounds and 8 assists, left the court early to rest, and other players continued to perform. David West scored 22 points, Peja 24 points, Green 18 points, Paul 12 points and 15 assists, the team showed Out of the performance of qualifying for the post-match competition.

After the game, Kevin was elected the best player of the game, but in the interview, he did not talk about himself, but affirmed the excellent performance of the team as a whole, and David and other substitute players also played a corresponding role. The whole team firmly implemented the coach's tactical intention throughout the game.

When talking about the Wizards, he only said one thing-the difference between the outside line and the inside line is too far.

Indeed, Arenas showed impressive combat power with 42 points, while Butler and Jamison around him scored 27 and 23 points respectively.

However, the others only scored 18 points in total, and the substitutes were greatly hindered.However, the reason is that the Wizards are too weak inside. Heywood scored 5 points and 6 rebounds, and Blatche scored 4 points and 2 rebounds...

(End of this chapter)